


I Am No Danger To You

by orphan_account



Series: Written [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Natasha Pistol Whips Cupid, Soulmate-Contact Marks, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Spin Off
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-07 14:10:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3175686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spin off of <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/2282424/chapters/5016810">Greetings, My Name is Reindeer Games</a><br/>Lathem returned with Darcy and Loki to New York and meets the woman he had fallen for from a distance. Natasha returns from a mission to find a god who had written his own words on her arm</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Some One Knocked Out Cupid

**Author's Note:**

> Guy's I am so excited about this, I have been obsessed with Lathem and Natasha ever since I created the character and I have been wanting to do this for so long. So here is the second part of this series. It will include Loki and Darcy as they are still a huge part of this series.  
>   
> I can't be the only one who sees it.  
> Okay, enough rambling for me, go and read the story and I hope you guys really enjoy it.  
> *}{LNtD}{*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spin Off of [ Greetings, My Name Is Reindeer Games](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2282424/chapters/5016810)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I have been sort of obsessed with Lathem and Natasha ever since I created him and I have really been wanting to do this because I know I sort of dropped the ball with him and Natasha in the epilogue so I just wanted to explain what happened in my head when they first met. 
> 
>   
> I can't be the only one who sees them together, can I? In fact I probably am. Anyway, that's all I have to say, now go and read the story and I hope you all enjoy it.  
> *}{LNtD}{*

Lathem stood alone in the tower. He decided it was better for him to stay away from Asgard at the moment, he had played a large part in Odin getting removed from the throne and most Asgardian still wanted him as king. It was for his safety that he remained on Midgard until things died down. It was his first night here, there was something different about visiting this time. Something more permanent and profound, almost as if something was waiting for him here. He looked outside at the city, cars sped around and people walked on the sidewalks aimlessly. New York was never still, in ways he despised and respected it. He loved the cultural blend that came together here, but he also loved the intricate beauty of Asgard’s forests. He was raised to be a simple common worker on the outskirts of the city. His childhood home was nestled in the shelterbelt of the expansive and roaming forests.

He missed his home, he missed his family, but he could never go back. Not after what his father did. In fact he really only wanted to go to see his mother. He felt so guilty running away to leave her with his father, it was even worse when he remembered how he never spoke to her after that. They hadn’t said a single word to one another, she must think that he had perished long ago. It burned him to do that to her, but he had to remind himself with the scars on his back, he would never return. After what happened with his father he could barely even walk through the lower part of the city without horrible memories coming back. It was probably why he couldn’t help but try and stop Odin, he had been in Loki’s place and he had to try and do anything he could to help his best friend. The noise from the bustling city soothed his nerves. It had been a long day. Darcy and Loki were reunited, Odin was stripped of his title and King of Asgard, and he would be staying on Midgard for lengthy time. He was always one to try new things but living on Midgard? It would be strange, it probably wouldn’t be able to do it if Loki and Thor weren’t here as well.

The wind was blowing swiftly from the window that was cocked open slightly. The cool breeze felt calming against his bare chest. Darcy and Loki were already sleeping in her apartment. They had arrived pretty late anyway and Darcy was just too exhausted for anything. Stark was still barely up and he laid out some blankets and pillowed for him to sleep on in the penthouse. All lights were all and the only light was coming from the surrounding city. He closed his eyes, reveling in the connectional energy that buzzed everywhere he looked. His heart slowed into a meditative beat. He felt serene and simple, somehow the constant noise of New York relaxed him.

He was broken out of his meditation by the sound of a gun cocking. “Turn around with your hands up.”  He recognized her voice. He would be able to notice it a mile away. And so he raised his hands slowly, keeping his heart at a slow beat as not to start panicking.

“I am no danger to you.” He said calmly and he turned around to face Natasha. She looked tired, her suit was covered in dirt and sweat dripped down her face. Even in her disheveled state she looked beautiful and strong. The fire of her spirit sparked in her blue eyes of fury. She had her gun honed in on him.

“I seriously doubt that.” She said darkly and took a few steps toward him, her eyes narrowed and her finger on the trigger. He knew what was racing through her mind. She thought he was an intruder, that he had come here to kill. If only she knew. He was here to do the exact opposite, he was here to beg for shelter and help in any way he could.  “Who are you and who do you work for?” She asked, he could see her labored breathing, she was strung out and exhausted.

He looked into her heart, the connections were thin and short, her heart was hollow and scattered. He knew that she was apart, severed from the rest but even this was painful to feel. She was broken and sick, her connection lifeless and barren. He had seen others like this, but something struck him about her. It was the fact that just by observing her he had fallen like he never had before. Even when he was with Loki his heart wasn’t so drawn to another’s.

“I am Anthony’s friend, as well and Darcy’s and Loki’s.” He stared at her, begging her to believe him. It was the truth but from her connections she could tell that Natasha could never trust. So he did what was considered a feat of submissiveness in his culture. He got on his knees with his hands still raised. Natasha paused, her gun lowered briefly before she began walking to him. He kept his head lowered. He had the combat skills to take her down if he really wanted to. Despite being against war and violence he was a well trained fighter.

She was directly in front of him, looking down at him with a cold stare. He barely lifted his head up at her. There was a silence for a while, just her evaluating him. She took a deep breath and lowered her pistol. He sighed in relief at her choice. He was about to speak and thanks when the butt of her gun whipped the side of his head, knocking him into unconsciousness.

*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*

Natasha called Stark downstairs immediately. He sounded angry and tied but agreed to check out whatever was going on. She put her communicator back in her pocket and walked over to the bar for   drink while she waited for him. The man who was passed out on the floor was strange. He was shirtless and only wore low riding grey pajama pants. He was so pale that his skin seemed to glow in the light of the moon. What he said seemed true, which is why she didn’t call Fury, but she still didn’t trust him enough.

A string of curses and the sound of the elevator opening signaled Tony’s arrival. “The hell is going on Widow? I was asleep, ever try it?” He walked over to the bar without even a second glance at the man on the floor and poured himself a drink. He took a swing of his whisky before looking at him.

“Why’d you knock out Lathy?” He said a bit slurred. Lathy? She had never heard of him before, nor had she seen him. Whoever he was he didn’t work for SHIELD, or any other organization, she could tell by his behavior.

“Who is he Stark?” She sneered. She had had a long mission and all she wanted to do was drink and sleep. Whoever Lathy was, he was ruining her plans. Tony yawed and took another sip before answering and walking over to the unconscious man.

“He’s Asgardian I think, one of Loki’s friends.” Stark’s eyes got brighter a bit. “Oh and you haven’t heard the best part.” He walked back over to her. “Him and Loki had some sort of thing about a hundred years ago, apparently he’s some sort of pleasure god.”

Natasha looked at Tony incredulously. Stark nodded, looking back at the man. “Uh-huh, he said he can see and enhance the connections of other people-“ Stark looked at her like he just got a wonderful idea. “He’s like Cupid!”

Natasha crossed her arms and stared at the man. He was undoubtedly attractive, his toned chest showed off the muscles that lied beneath the flawless marble skin. “I knocked out Cupid?” She asked. If what Stark was saying was true then she could defiantly see him as a pleasure god.

“Yes you did, and you also have to deal with him later, I am going back to bed.” Stark yawned and went back to the elevator. “See ya Widow.” He waved sarcastically as the elevator doors closed. If she wasn’t so exhausted and worn out she would’ve retaliated but her arms felt weak and so did her spirit. She shrugged Stark’s childlike behavior off, she really should’ve gotten used to it by now but it still got on her last nerve when she forgot that the older man still acted like a horny 14 year old. From where she stood she could see the head of the past out man. His ebony locks had barely fallen in front of his eyes. She walked over to see him better.

His back was facing the window, all his bare skin radiating the light. She noticed the pale marks that were thrashed along his back. She bent down to inspect the scars further. In all her life time she had seen torture, she had been the one holding the whip and the one under it, she knew what scars looked like. These were long and brutal, but they were old, created long ago. From the way they had stretched and warped it looked like he had to have grown up since the skin was pierced. These cuts were inflicted on a child. She took a sharp breath. She had done many things in her life, things she wasn’t proud of and things she would never admit to. But these scars? The original wounds must have been their own psychological torture on a child. The pain and the misery would never fade from this man’s back. Without even knowing him, barely even speaking words to the man, she couldn’t help but see a side of him that seemed buried and broken.

“Что с тобой случилось?” She asked herself quietly. Slowly she lightly ran her hand across the top of the prominent scars. He didn’t flinch, except a pressured groan escaped him.

“Pistol whip?” She snatched her hand away as soon as he let out a syllable, she got up and went back to her composed posture, her hand on the hilt of her gun. An annoying itch crawled it’s way on her upper left arm, but she ignored it and kept steady.  The man pulled himself up slowly, one hand on the floor to balance him while he was on his knees. He took the other free hand and checked the spot where she had hit him. She only let out shallow breaths, braced for anything he would do next. So Tony may trust him, but she had absolutely no reason to.

He turned his head to glance at her before he went back to trying to get back up. “You can take your hand away from that gun.” He said. His voice was a distinct rich baritone, echoing throughout the silent penthouse. “I am unarmed.” She looked over him again, her instincts told her to trust him, that he wasn’t a threat. But her brain told her otherwise. With a shallow breath her instincts one over and she removed her hand from her pistol.

He got to his feet, he was rubbing the back of his neck. Normally people would’ve been a bit shocked or at least angry if someone pistol whipped them. But he seemed calm and collected. He reached out his left hand.

“My name is Lathem.” He sighed. She looked at his hand, then back to his face. There was no evidence the pistol had hit him. Everything was just as sculpted and refined as the rest of him. His pale bow shaped lips were barely curved in the form of a smile while he looked at her with his scolding sea-blue eyes. When she didn’t respond right away one of his eyebrows lifted in question. She finally gave in to his burning stare and took his hand. As soon as she touched him the itch on her arm became exponentially worse, like something was crawly just under her skin. She didn’t let her discomfort show, but she felt like Lathem could tell something was wrong.

“Natasha Romanoff.” She said and took her hand away as soon as she could without drawing attention to herself. Lathem nodded.

“Russian?” He asked.

“Used to be.” She answered cryptically. The response made the corners of his mouth lift up. He didn’t answer back, just turned around again to look at the view of the city.

“I have always wanted to live in a place like this.” He said with a sigh. She couldn’t help but notice the peculiarity of his words. Tony had said he was Asgardian but from what she had heard this was nothing compared to Asgard.

“It is a beautiful place.” She answered. Lathem let out a snort of disbelief and shook his head.

“No.” he said. “It’s not.” Lathem turned his head to look at her. “But it is a _cultural_ place.” He stated firmly before looking back out at the bustling city. “It is a place of mixture and change. Open-mindedness and new ideas.” He spoke passionately, his words formed elegantly and firmly at the same time. “It is a place of action and diversity. It is evolution in it's best form.” She had never thought of New York in that way, to her it was just dirty and full of millionaires who had nothing to do. Stark.

“It is not beautiful.” He stated again and turned back to her. “Yet it is interconnectional.”

She looked at him. He was interesting, the way he moved was precise, like a tiger about to strike. But he was also fluid and laid back. Every part about him was contradicting the other. She crossed her arms and sighed.

“Well I hope you find your stay,” She paused, searching for the right word, “ _inviting_.” She spit out the word, she didn’t know what made her angry at him, the only answer she could come up with was the fact that she couldn’t figure him out. There was a smoke screen around him and she couldn’t see past it. People who she couldn’t see past were the ones she couldn’t trust. But there was something about him that she couldn’t help but trust, and it annoyed her to the end. He looked a bit surprised at her sudden anger, but didn’t say anything about it.

“Thank you for your consideration, Natasha. It is appreciated.” He said innocently, making her feel a small twinge of guilt in her stomach. She nodded to him, pausing for one last look over before she made her way to the elevator. She got a small glimpse of him before the elevator closed, he had gone back to looking about the window. She fumed while the elevator lowered. She needed to get inside Lathem’s head. It was an instinct, she felt blind without knowing why he was here.

Se unintentionally slammed the door to her room, but she didn’t care, there wasn’t a risk of her waking anyone up. She had had a long day, all of the stress and lack of sleep had gotten to her. She usually wasn’t like this, so worn out and agitated. She could blame it on the man in the penthouse. Her anger for him was unjustified, she knew that, but she couldn’t help it. Her room’s lights were off, the light was being flooded in by the window. She couldn’t help but wonder what Lathem was thinking about while he looked outside at the New York night. What ever it was he seemed focused on it, like he was lost in his own head. She sighed, running her hands through her hair. Her assignment wasn’t that complicated, but it was a long one. She had been gone for close to three weeks, completely off the radar. Hoping that when she returned it would be a good chance to sleep for five days straight.

The table on her right was decorated with whisky and any other alcoholic drink imaginable. Since Lathem ruined her drink that she was going to have upstairs, now would be a perfect time to make up for it. She poured then chugged the bourbon, relishing the taste. Her clothes were dusty and browned by the recent skirmish she had earlier. She set the empty glass down and stripped out of the disgusting leather. The clothes were deposited in the laundry while she walked around in nothing but a sports bra and some boyshorts. She didn’t even bother to look at herself, instead all she could think of doing was sleep. It was a good thing that she had kept the lights off because even her skin was covered in a thick layer of dirt and she didn’t want to see the damage. 

She strolled into the bathroom and ignored the constant pain in her leg. Tony had outfitted her bathroom quite luxuriously, the state of the art appliances must have cost him a small fortune. But of course he would spend a large fortune without the blink of an eye.  She fiddled with the shower’s program settings before deciding on one with all of the jets and the aroma therapy. The lights turned on when the water did, making the large shower glow in white light. She didn’t mind it, the lights helped her see any injuries she had obtained anyway. Her sports bra and boyshorts were thrown off as she stepped into the warm water.

The scent of roses and coconut filled the shower, it relaxed the tension in her muscles psychologically while the jets massaged them. She ran her hand through her soaking hair, working out the dirt and grime in it. She took the soap from the wide variety that she had stocked up on, choosing a candy and vanilla scent. She scrubbed off all the mess that was piled on her, barely flinching when the soap came in contact with open wounds. Once the dirt was gone she could see the array of scars that coated her skin. There wasn’t any white space, just the constant reminder of pain she had gone through. The oldest scar she could pick out was a long one down the length of her leg. Her first training session with older agents while she was 5. But the one that was the most prominent to her were the neatly organized lines across her wrist and forearm. These weren’t wounds of battle, or at least not in the typical sense. These were lines that she created herself while she fought her own mind.

She ran her left hand across them when something horrific caught her eye. A shimmer. A brief glow off her left bicep. Her heart race quickened as she saw what it was. They were words circled around her arm like a ring. It looked like fire, the bottom of the words a shimmering orange that faded into a dark grey at the top like smoke rising.

“I am no danger to you.”

They were Lathem’s words, his first words that he said to her. It was a soulmark. One that had just manifested itself. A contact mark. She put the pieces together in her mind. Contact marks revealed themselves when the soulmates first touched. She had felt an itching on her arm ever since she had touched Lathem’s own scars.  This wasn’t happening to her, she was handpicked to be an agent because of her lack of soulmate. And now, now she was realizing that she had always had one, hidden by her own design. _Love is for children._ But she wasn’t a child anymore, the words on her arm weren’t meant to ever exist, she never wanted them to. They did now, and they were ruining what she had always thought.

She never understood love, or affection, she understood hate and pain. It would be easier, so much easier if it wasn’t Lathem, not the person who just made her want to kill him for no reason. Or maybe, it wasn’t anger she felt, maybe it wasn’t the fact that she couldn’t see him but more of the fact that she didn’t need to and she had been subconsciously torturing herself because her abundance of trust for a person she had never seen before.

She scrubbed the words, wishing that they would just rub off like marker. She scrubbed furiously, until her skin was pink and sore, little spots of blood had begun to appear and she couldn’t deny the tears that ran down her cheeks. She was angry, not just at Lathem but at herself and at any deity that did this to her. The only thing that was running through her head was the words that were drilled into her as a child and the ones that contradicted them completely.

_Love is for children_

_I am no danger to you_

_Love is for children_

_I am no danger to you_

_Love is for children_

_I am no danger to you_

*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*

Lathem waited until the elevator had gone completely before he let himself panic. He lowered the illusion on his arm and looked at the words that he had felt appear. They were orange and grey and encircled his left bicep in their swift looking font. His breathing came out harshly, blood boiling with anger.

Pleasure Gods didn’t have soulmates. It was something he had accepted long ago and never had any problem with until now. He never even considered the possibility of a contact mark, he was so distant from his own self he never dwelled long on the idea that there might be someone out here for him. Now that he had figured out there was it confused him yet main perfect sense. He had seen Loki around Natasha, it was how he had first seen her. Ever since then he had been trying to figure out why she was so entrancing to him, why she had done something no other could, make him weak. But now that he figured out that he had been tied to her since the beginning he couldn’t help but want to get rid of her words on his arm.

But he knew better. The words wouldn’t disappear, they wouldn’t fade away. They were stuck to him, and he was stuck with them. He remembered what Loki had said while he was healing from stabbing himself.

 _“She will love you too.”_ Had he known somehow? Had he seen something that he had missed? Lathem had to retrain his anger. Natasha’s connections were so fain and unreadable and now he was her only one that was full. The shock of the connection finally taking surface would be excruciating on her. And he felt horrible that he had caused it. He could feel it now, the connection being woven together, like all that was missing from him was filling back into place. If he focused, he could feel everything that she could.

She was scared, horrified even. Everything that she had known was being rewritten. He couldn’t help but want to go and help her, to tell her everything was going to be alright. But then he would be lying in a way. Pleasure Gods didn’t have soulmates, that was a fact and a rule. If his advisors found out they would strip him of his own title. He couldn’t let that happen. He was the most well known pleasure god in all of the nine realms. He was affiliated with all the royal families in most of them. Being a pleasure god was his life, it was all he knew and he enjoyed it, this was ruining it, everything.

If he could erase the words he would do it in a heartbeat, he would free both him and Natasha from something that was going to dictate the rest of their lives. He needed someone to talk to about this, someone in his position. But Loki needed his rest and his own time with his soulmate. He couldn’t help but remember what Loki felt like when he had found Darcy at first. He was horrified, humiliated and disturbed. In a way he could take Darcy’s and Loki’s relationship as an example, but he knew that he wouldn’t be as lucky as Loki. Natasha and him weren’t soulmates and much as they were tied together with something beyond their control. He could see why Loki and Darcy are soulmates, each of them brings out the better side of the other one. But him and Natasha didn’t have good sides, they wouldn’t make each other better as much as they would rip each other apart.

He did feel something for Natasha, he admired her strength and resilience. She was an unstoppable force and Lathem couldn’t help but be fascinated by her. But this, he never wanted this, just to know her would’ve been enough and now this was too much. He knew that she was going to confront him tomorrow. It was inevitable. But the thought of feeling all the pain and confusion that she was feeling made him dread seeing her again. In all his years he had seen people go insane from connections, whether it be by one severing to quickly or by one forming to abruptly. Contact Marks were rare and common between interdimensional soulmates, which were even rarer. Yet it seemed there were more and more soulmates finding each other because of the Midgard’s sudden ability to travel to other realms as well.

He concentrated even harder on Natasha, so much that he could hear what was going through her head.

_Love is for children_

_I am no danger to you_

_Love is for children_

_I am no danger to you_

_Love is for children_

_I am no danger to you_

Looking back on what he had said to her earlier it was like he lied. He was a danger to her. He was a danger to her mind, to her heart’s well being. If only she could hear him back he would tell her to calm down, to breathe, that everything was going to be fine. She wouldn’t see it as him inside her head, it would be like her subconscious talking to her, and he knew that it would calm her. He hadn’t lied to Darcy when he told her he was a therapist, because in a way he was. The people that summon him usually aren’t looking just for pleasure, but for a release of some sort. He didn’t just pleasure people then go, he got to know them, he tried to understand them and make them feel better. He only wished he could to the same for Natasha.

His train of thought was interrupted by a cold feeling coming from Natasha, it hit him and took the breath out his lungs. Natasha was hyperventilating as her panic attack set in.

*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*

She was trained to battle this. She was build to withstand all of this. But she was also told that love is for children. Panic attacks weren’t common for her, in fact she had only gotten another one once when she woke up in a SHIELD hospital for the first time. Her chest hurt and she was shuttering. She had gotten out of the shower when the attack started and all she could do was wrap herself in a blanket and wait for it to pass. Her head felt wrong and disordered, her stomach was upturned and she was in danger of throwing up her drink. She was cold, not only because of just getting out of the shower but everything was cold. Even her bed, which she was currently curled at the foot of, was cold to the touch. She didn’t know why this was affecting her so much.

Her breathing was quickening by the second and she was trying everything to stop it. She was completely oblivious to the knocking at her door. Her muscles hurt along with her chest, her hands were numb. Suddenly the cold was gone and all she could feel was heat piecing at her. She was sweating and her palms were clamming. This time the persistent knocking broke her bubble of panic just enough for her to realize what was going on. But she was stuttering too much to open the door. She wondered who it could be, maybe it was help. She opened her mouth to speak but a pained sound only came out.

“Natasha!” She could barely hear a reassuring voice call to her. It was Lathem and she begged herself to help her speak. He had caused this but she couldn’t help but feel like he would also fix it. The heat passed and she was back to being buried in her own ice. She felt tears stinging her face as they slid down her cheeks. Without warning her door was broken open, Lathem looked at her with concern obvious in his eyes. She was beyond relief that he was there and he looked that way too.

“Natasha.” He sighed and rushed to her, his arms braced around her and she could feel her rapid heart rate dip down. She let herself fall back and lean on him. She still wasn’t sure about him, in fact she probably never will be, but he was the only one who was helping her. He hummed to her, the tune rumbling in his chest, the calming sound made her stop shaking.

Tony had told her that Lathem could feel and see connections between people. Maybe this is why he could feel her attack. Her head was resting on his shoulder while he hummed to her. Her breathing was still labored. He held her there for a long time, until she stopped her attack. Even then she didn’t have the energy to move.

“L-Lathem?” She whispered, her throat was hoarse, making her words painful and dry. He tightened his grip, it wasn’t uncomfortable, it was reassuring.

“What do you need?” He asked. She needed to regain some of her common sense. But what she really needed was him.

“The mark.” She said. A lasting sigh escaped him. He didn’t answer her for a moment.

“I'm sorry.” He finally said. Why should he be sorry? Neither of them could’ve controlled this.

“I don’t know.” She said, she didn’t know why, or what was going on. She was confused and she felt too vulnerable. But along with vulnerable she felt safe, and she never felt safe. Because everyone was a threat, everyone had secrets, but she did feel safe.

It was a while before her instincts kicked in and her shock dissipated. She broke free of Lathem’s embrace. She barely knew him, even if she had his words on her arm. She stood up and tightened the towel around her, he didn’t look shocked at her reaction. In fact he looked like he was expecting it. She just stood there, mauling over what to do. She had never felt this vulnerable, she hated vulnerability. Lathem noticed that she was going to speak, but he fully understood what was going on.

He stood up and opened his mouth to speak but instead just closed it and slightly shook his head. She was frozen in her spot as he walked to the door. He opened the door and paused, he leaned on the wall of the threshold.

“I am as confused by this as you are.” He finally sighed, his rich voice radiating in her room and in the hall, making his voice seem large and profound. She still stood there, not finding any energy to respond. He barely turned his head her way, she could only just see the light reflecting off his bright eyes. “Know that.” He ended and slowly closed the door with a soft click as the locks slid into place. For a while she did nothing but stand in the middle of her apartment in a towel with her wet hair strung out and soaked.

She forced herself to move, her legs had become stiff and all the weight of her day was weighing down on her with a great force. She slid under her heated black covers and rested her head on her pillowed. It took a while of thinking before she actually fell back to a well needed sleep, and when she did Lathem’s luminous sea blue eyes kept her safe in her dreams.

 


	2. Conflict

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things heat up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I feel like a complete ass. This gif pretty much explains my emotions.  
> 

Two Days.

They hadn’t spoken, they hadn’t made eye contact and their soul connection was getting weaker and weaker by the minute. He could feel the essence draining out of him and he hated it. He hated every part of it. He hated the fact that she knew she locked with him and still ignored him, he hated her aloofness towards him, most of all he hated himself for hating her. This was hard, for both of them but especially for her and the only reason she was avoiding him is because she couldn’t comprehend what’s going on. He never got this out of control. Sure he was a fan of boxing and martial arts. But he never let his pent up anger control him like this.  
“You might just break the bag.” Lathem paused from the punching bag to look behind him. It was Loki. He sighed and went back to punching it.  
“If I wanted to I could.” He said pointedly. Loki walked up to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. It was strange having Loki consoling him like this. He was usually the helping hand in these situations.

“You just need to give her time, Natasha is a complicated character.”

That sent him over the edge, with his next punch the bag was knocked off the wall and landed somewhere on the latter side of the gym. He turned around to face Loki. His breath was labored and sweat fell down his forehead.

“Don’t you dare give me advice on women. You were gay long before you were bi.”

Loki narrowed his eyes at him. Lathem regretted the words but he couldn’t take them back. Loki had seen him this angry before many times. And he knew just how to help him. Loki sighed and took his tight green shirt off, leaving him only in sweat pants just like Lathem was.  
Loki went over to a table and put some wrappings on his hands. It was a sparring match, it always calmed both of them down. Lathem sighed and walked over to an empty space on the mats. They both took their stance and neither of them used any mercy as they sent punches and kicks flying towards each other.

*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*

Natasha starred at Lathem as he and Loki fought. She set her stuff down in the chair next to her and watched the two Agardians spar. She was confused by him. Half of her wanted to give in and love him the way soulmates were supposed to. But the more reasonable side of her told her that she couldn’t, that she was only here for SHIELD not for herself. Right now she was only listening to her reasonable half, because that’s the only one that mattered.

“Two sweating gods fighting each other shirtless, its official, this is the best view ever.” Natasha looked up at Darcy, she was biting her nails as she watched them. It made her smile.

She turned her head back to them and nodded. “It’s not bad.”

Darcy sat down next to her. “Not bad? That’s like saying Brucie’s cooking is ‘okay’.” She looked at her. “What’s wrong?” She added more serious.

Natasha shook her head. “It’s not important.” Darcy scoffed.

“Yes it is. You found your soulmate.” She said. “Who happens to be the ex lover of my soulmate, who happens to be one of your friends. Honestly, I'm feeling like a freaking night with four people and a lot of-“

“Darcy!” Natasha exclaimed.

“What! Just being honest!” She said with a grin on her face. Natasha rolled her eyes, not even trying to hide her smile.

“Listen, I'm just saying. There’s nothing to be afraid of. He a pleasure god, he’ll take care of you, I promise.” Darcy kissed her cheek before getting up and leaving. Natasha sat there thinking about what she had said. Her eyes wandered to the two gods, particularly the one with the orange and grey shimmer on his bicep.

She sighed and looked down at her arm, tracing the words with her hand. “I am no danger to you.” She whispered to herself, remembering how his baritone vocals echoed in the penthouse. The words on her arm tingled, making goose bumps rise on her arm before she felt incredibly warm, like someone was holding her tightly. She look back up at Lathem who briefly caught her sight before going back to throwing a roundhouse kick to Loki’s back.  
Just the sight of his eyes made her twitch, maybe he wasn’t a danger. But just a blessing in disguise. No, he couldn’t be. Natasha shook her head and got up with her things. She was never blessed.

*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*

Lathem had his hands on Loki’s shoulders, both of them panting. Sweat fell down both of them and bruises we’re forming. Out of the panting Loki began to chuckle, Lathem raised his previously hung head to look at him. He was sit looking down with his fallen head from absolute exhaustion. “You’ve certainly been deprived.”

Loki raised his eyes to meet Lathem’s, “How long?” He asked. The question was embarrassing, especially for him. Sex was a need, a second energy source. It was more for the intimate connection in the heat of passion then it was for the physical pleasure, though that was a bonus. He never went long without the connection, but in the alternate reality it was just as long as it was in normal time. All together he had been starved, every part of him ached. It was such a pity Loki was taken, he was a good partner.

“Too long.” Lathem replied. Loki pulled him in and embraced him with his lean arms. Lathem let himself be held but couldn’t resist holding Loki back. Long before they had separated as partners, him and Loki shared a mental connection for a brief time, allowing Loki to feel what he felt. While he had been away on a meditation trip, which sadly required no sexual pleasure, Loki was able to feel how empty he was. He knew how Lathem was right now, he could see the sympathy in Loki’s green eyes.

“She’ll come around.” Loki answered consolingly.

“That won’t matter if I'm so starved I can barely think straight.” Lathem said hoarsely, which gained a strong chuckle from his Iceling. Loki pulled away to look at him, one hand was on his neck while the other placed on his shoulder.

“You’ll be fine you melodramatic sex addict.” Loki kissed him on his forehead before patting him on the pack and unwrapping his hands.

“I have to go, Darcy just bought some delicious lingerie.”  
Lathem groaned and sat down on a padded bench. “Don’t make me feel worse.” Loki just sighed and put his shirt back on, the thin green fabric clung to his sweaty torso.

“If I could, I would invite you.” Loki said before blowing him a kiss and leaving. Lathem rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall, letting all his anger fade away. A familiar feeling ran through his body, it was an echo of a voice that called in his nerves. Someone was calling him. He had ignored calls for the past two days but this was it, his starvation at been pushed to the limit. A call would be the best thing for him. He stood up and cleaned himself up with his magic, moving back into his trademark grey and bronze trench coat. With a smile at the thought of what was to come he followed the call.

 

It took him to a large building, clearly in the bellows of Jottunheim’s capital city by the design. It was cold but it didn’t bother him a bit when he saw the giantess lying regally on a deep blue couch. Her floor length hair was covering her most private of areas. One of her feet was swinging back and forth idly in boredom as she twirled a braided lock of her ebony hair. Spirals of ridges graced her dark azure skin. Her bright crimson eyes flicked to him and a smile spread across her elegant face.

“My god I presume?” She asked lustfully. Fire leapt in his body as she arch her back slightly in a sinfully vulnerable insinuation. Lathem smiled.

“With those eyes,” He whispered, taking a step forward as he felt himself change and morph into the regular size of a male Jottun. “I will be anything.” He leaned down to kiss her frozen lips, knowing that what happened afterwards was going to be a well needed feast.

*}{*}{*}*}{*}{*}{*}{*

Natasha read her book quietly on the penthouse couch, feeling lazy after a rigorous workout involving the completion of two high security missions within five minutes of each other. One of them may or may not have included getting pop tarts for Thor before he had another ‘My family’s in tatters’ meltdown, and the other was most certainly not centered around looking for Hulk knock out spray. A large bang came from one of the lower levels, it echoed throughout the building with an odd rumble before eventually dying down.

When in doubt, blame Stark’s experiments.

Natasha continued reading her novel for another ten or fifteen minutes before someone stepped off the elevator. She briefly looked up at Loki before going back to her book. They didn’t speak until Loki had sat himself down on one of the recliners with a magazine in hand and a glass of wine in the other. She set down her book and looked at him seriously.

“So tell me about Lathem.”

Loki’s eyes only momentarily departed from his page before returning to it. “What would you like to know?” He said, taking a sip of wine.

She thought for a second. What did she want to know? After a few seconds of no answer she just decided to be general. “What kind of person is he?”

Loki let out a long sigh but still didn’t take his eyes of the magazine. “What do you mean?” Now he was just purposefully being vague.

“Describe him in one word.” She said.

Loki paused for a second. “Passionate.”

Passionate. Of course he was passionate, he was a pleasure god, not being passionate would get you fired. She let out a breath grimly. Loki caught her sharpness and set down the magazine, and looked at her seriously.

“He’s passionate, and loyal, he’s trustworthy and generous. Above all he is the best man I know, and he will fight for other’s when they have lost the ability to defend themselves. He’s strong and confident but is one of the most caring and gentle people in Asgard. And if you’re asking me this because you want to know what kind of person he is, then you need to find those answers yourself.”

She locked her jaw, she hated being talked down to by Loki, it was demeaning. She fell back on the couch. “You’re useless.” She hissed as she stared up at the ceiling.

Loki just hummed in agreement before answering with his own snide comment. “And you’re afraid of emotions.”

Time went by and Loki left, Steve walked in asking her to help with his computer because Stark did something to it. It turned out he sold a porn company to Steve online. It took about five hours to get things worked out due to the fact that the tower had 100 floors so Tony has a lot of places to hide. Fury had to give Tony a talking down to and Steve had to explain to Maria thoroughly that it was Starks’ doing not his. She ended up understanding completely, even letting a brief crack of a smile show before going off to debrief some agents.

Steve sat down in his chair with utter exhaustion. She took a seat across from him. He was fiddling around with something in his pocket, she had noticed him doing it earlier when he was talking to Maria but now that it was just them in a conference room she thought it would be best to ask what it was.

“What’s in your pocket?” She said curiously. Steve’s eyes got wide from shock that she noticed the small movement and an embarrassed blush crept up on his cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something but shut it. She politely waited for a an answer where none came.

“Oh come on, you just bought and sold a porn site, how much worse could this be?” She said with a smiled but Steve just let out a depressing sigh and avoided his gaze while he dug something out of his pocket. He set the small velvet box on the table before sliding it over to the other end where she sat. It was something she had rarely seen in all her life. She picked up the box before opening it.

On the inside there was a simple ring. It wasn’t too extravagant and had a timeless look to it. The one large gem was cut into a simple circle and surrounded by smaller slightly blue stones. The band was silver and caught the light of the window making every part of the ring sparkle. Natasha just stared at the ring for a while, her imagination got the best of her as she thought of herself owning a ring on her left hand. She thought of Lathem giving her that ring, and her saying yes. She imagined getting married to her soulmate and having a family with him. They would be beautiful in every way and she would love them more than love is capable.

This is why she hated her imagination.  
She closed the box and set it back down. “She’ll love it.” She said with a grin before sending back sliding over to Steve. She stared at it, an unsure expression on his face.

“But what if she doesn’t want to get married?” He mumbled. Nat sighed and leaned back in her chair.

“But she does.” She said, Steve looked up at her with his eyebrows raised pitifully. She smiled. “Don’t ask me how many times I have caught her looking at wedding dresses.” She saw Steve take a deep breath.

“How do I ask her?” He said, she felt like she was talking to a teenage boy. She shook her head.

“How did you two even start going out when you’re this helpless?” She asked honestly. He shrugged. She just got up with a roll of her eyes and walked towards the door. “You don’t want to ask me for relationship advice.” She said solemnly before leaving the room.

*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*

Darcy was walking down the hall with an absolute skip in her step. She wasn’t exactly sure why but that didn’t really matter all that much. She was heading towards Lathem’s temporary apartment. They had a card game planned and she wasn’t going to let him win again. Loki was off doing sciencey stuff she had no business in which left her schedule wide open. Normally she would be working right now but Tony was on probation of sorts because of Steve’s new porn company thing and was restricting himself to his lab.

Darcy knocked on Lathem’s door and waited for an answer. When nothing came she got a bit suspicious, Lathem never had his door locked, mostly due to the fact that she was constantly coming in and out. She opened the door to a dark apartment.  
“Lathy!” She called. I was strange, him not being here. Either he was out doing something or he was sleeping. But Lathem always fell asleep to music and she couldn’t hear any Stostakovich playing. Well now she was just feeling played. Why would someone plan a card game rematch and not show up. She pulled out the S.H.I.E.L.D. issued phone and called the one god she knew was around.

Loki’s voice echoed on the phone. “Darling, how nice of you to call in a meeting.” He hissed the last word, apparently she had interrupted something. Well, too late now.

“Oops, sorry babe, I’ll make it up to you with a severe lack of clothing later.” She heard a pleasant hum on the other end of the phone. “But now I need to ask you something.”

“What is it, elska?” He said. She had no idea what ‘elska’ meant but that really didn’t matter because from the context he was using it in it meant it was something positive.

“Lathem’s fallen off the face of the Earth, any idea’s where he is?” As soon as she said that a bright orange light lit up the darkened apartment and Lathem was standing there in nothing but his trench coat, which was thankfully buckled from the lower abdomen down.  
Loki was about to answer when she spoke instead. “Never mind.” She hung up and flipped on the lights. Lathem was almost shocked to see her but he looked to happy to care. His eyes were brighter then she had seen them in days and his skin seemed to be ore radiant. He walked over to the kitchen with a confident stride. She definitely missed something.

 

“What’s going on with you?” She said, taking a seat at the bar. Lathem pulled out a bottle of water.

“Nothing’s going on.” He answered before taking a sip.

“Liar.” She muttered with a grin, it was nice seeing Lathem so happy. Ever since the whole contact mark fiasco he had been aloof and distant. Lathem couldn’t deny his smile. It was nice to see him less mope-y, except she wanted the inside scoop on why and she was going to get it one way or another.

“Does it have something to do with Nat?” She asked eagerly, his face fell an inch, which wasn’t exactly a good sign.

“No, it doesn’t.” he said, she could hear the underlying tones of regret marking his voice. She squinted in thought at what could make Lathem so happy and not have anything to do with Natasha. She kept thinking for a moment, skowering her mind for something before she inevitably came up empty. She let her shoulders fall with defeat.

“Okay, I'm beat, what is it?” She sighed. A smile curved on the edge of his bow lips.

“I got a call.” He said relieved. Her face fell as he continued talking. “Oh and it was wonderful, I haven’t felt so alive in weeks. She was phenomenal, one of the most beautiful Jottuns I have ever seen. And boy was she curious, I do hope she becomes a regular.” Lathem walked over to sit next to her at the bar.

“After all that has happened this is the best thing I could’ve done for myself. Especially after being emotionally anorexic for so long. It’s been the thing missing from my life for the past three weeks, Tæsir was such a wonderful client and was generous enough to let me dine with her afterwards. Something you don’t always find in a Jottun client.”

Darcy didn’t let him finish his next sentence before she slapped him clear across the face. He barely flinched but he still looked surprised as hell. “S’cuse me, but I don’t think that was called for!”

“You are with Natasha!” She said before crossing her arms in a huff.

“If you haven’t already noticed that ship sailed quite awhile ago.” He said, before adding. “I know you want us together but I doubt it’s going to happen.” Speaking more tenderly this time.

“But if you just worked at it you guys would be great!” She pointed out. “Even those cosmic beings who write crap on our bodies believe you two should be together.”  
Lathem shook his head solemnly, and took her hand. “Darcy, there’s nothing more that I want then for her to be happy. And not being with me is making her happy.” He looked her in the eye. “Can you understand that, I will hurt her.”

She narrowed her eyes and ripped her hand away. “No, you guys are going to be happier than a unicorn dancing on a rainbow!”

“Have you actually met a unicorn before? They aren’t that pleasant of creatures.” He said seriously.

Unicorns, real, awesome. “Whatever! You still shouldn’t go and cheat on your soulmate like that! Isn’t against some intergalactic soulmate law?”

Lathem quirked an eyebrow at her. “Intergalatic Soulmate Law? One, that doesn’t exist. Two, if it did there would be a pleasure god clause.”

She let out a depressed breath and hung her head. “I just, I just want to help.” She said weakly. “You did so much for me and Loki and I just want you to be as happy as we are.”

“Darcy.” He said as he pulled her in for a hug. “I would do anything for my best friend and his partner.”

“I know,” Darcy sobbed. “And you’re my best friend and I would do anything for you.” She pulled away to look at him. “So go and hook up with my other best friend, okay?”

Lathem laughed, he looked down at the deck of cards she brought. “How about we finish this game I promised first?”

*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*

Natasha sat on her bed, sketching with a randomly found pencil and a notebook she had taken from Steve. She was never a girly girl who always dreamt of her dream wedding, being a trained killer since before she could think practically sort of set her off from dresses and rings and men in general really. But seeing Steve’s ring to Maria today struck a chord that she never knew existed inside her, and now that Lathem was around there was just a slight possibility that she had a chance of settling down. She wasn’t the best drawer but she was good, and the dress she was drawing was just as beautiful as she had imagined it.

The dress wasn’t extravagant, she didn’t like or need extravagant, it was simple and traditional. She imagined it as a grey color with black and rose gold accents. It had long sleeves and a boat neck, it had an a-line skirt and a belt across the stomach with an oval buckle. She stared at the emptiness of the buckle, she drew a compilation of interesting spirals before erasing them due to the fact that it was too laid back for her.

A spark drew in her mind of something that had forgotten the origin of. It was a horizontal line with two curved marks coming off the right. One of the long marks was short and just curved over the top of the line while the other swirled around the line like a snake once. She didn’t know where she had seen it, or if it just sort of popped in her head but it complimented the dress in an odd way. She kept the symbol there, she liked it. A knock came at her door.  
She looked up from her sketch. “Come in.” She called and set the notebook down on her nightstand. Darcy walked in while dragging a reluctant Lathem, who was also being shoved in from behind by Loki. The sight was actually quite funny. Darcy was tugging Lathem in by his wrist and Loki was using all his strength to push him in the room.

“Come on, you ríkr stokkr!” Loki hissed as he finally was able to push Lathe in with full force. Both gods stumbled in along with Darcy who almost lost her balance before a copy of Loki caught her.

“Thanks, babe.” She said before facing Natasha. “Hi Nat, just wanted to let you know, Tony gave us permission to lock you and Lathem in here for as long as it takes you guys to finally get the Latasha show on the road.”

Natasha instantly got up to stop the situation before it actually started but before she could do anything Darcy and Loki disappeared and her door was locked. She felt anger well up inside her, she knew what they were trying to do and she wasn’t going to let it happen. Lathem was already trying to open the door and Natasha picked up her phone and called Stark.

“You guys do it yet?” Tony’s voice came on the other end of the phone, she was this close to shooting him the next time he had the balls to show is face around her.

“Get us the fuck out of here!” She hissed.

“No can do, sugar plum fairy, this worked for Darcy and Reindeer Games and its going to work for you and Sexy Hips.”

“I'm going to kill you Stark.” She seethed in her own rage.

“I know.” And with that Tony hung up leaving her within her own rights to throw his company phone against the wall. She could see that Lathem didn’t even flinch from it. In fact he looked like he could do the same.

She stared at him head on. “Can’t you just break down the door?” She said gesturing to the crimson door.

“I could if Loki hadn’t put wards on it to make it and the locks indestructible.”

“Well they really thought of everything didn’t they?” She had her fists balled up so tightly that blood was on the verge of drawing from the cuts her nails had begun inflicting. She hated this. She felt like a panther in captivity, being held against her will. She needed some place to go and fume and her personal gym was the best place Stark related fury release.

Without a word to her fellow prisoner she walked into the second room in her apartment. She was already in sports wear from the swim she took before coming up here to rest for the night. She didn’t care for music all that much, but she needed something to drown out her thoughts. She had Panic! At The Disco blasting before long and her punching bag was getting the worst of her anger.

Stark had no right to do this, to hold her with him like he was some sort of authority to her. Fury probably wouldn’t be too mad if she snapped his neck, sure they would lose a lot of invested money but the world was better off without that juvenile buffoon. It was worse that half of her wanted to talk with Lathem, to work things out. Even if she was working for SHIELD now, her programming from the Red Room still stuck to her and relationships were taboo. Sure having a fling or two with Clint was fine, it was sex, nothing personal nothing important. But soultmates were forever, and there was no chance of her out living Lathem, she was stuck with him for the rest of her life. She thought about the sketch in the other room, how much she wanted it to be real and how much she wanted the fantasy to burn. She thought about her imagination wondering off earlier today, a ring, a wedding, a god damn family.

She knew that her having children was impossible, and she had accepted it a long time ago, but this was the first time since she was 13 that she even considered the idea of children. Love is for children, and she was a child back then, not now. But she still wanted it, her normal, less hardwired side wanted everything to do with Lathem. She even ached for it. She was taught that hearts were for nothing but pumping blood around your body. She believed that till three days ago. Her band of words felt odd, like something was alive in them. She paused her kickboxing match with the punching back to look at her arm.

There they were, the things that were ripping her apart. She hadn’t seen any mark colored like hers. They words looked like smoke rising from a fire, they were slightly outlined in a bronze and barely had a opalescent shimmer to them. What was even stranger was the fact that he had the exact same mark, couples always had different marks but theirs were the same. The feeling of her panic attack on Tuesday still haunted her, except when Lathem came, and then she was back in her fantasy world. She hated that him holding her made her feel safe. Being around him was dangerous for her well being, but also the greatest thing that has happened to her. Confliction was a bitch.

She didn’t know how long it had been, but her playlist had already restarted twice and her limbs weren’t even tired yet. She felt a presence around her and caught the figure of a man in her hallway. She didn’t stop her ruthless brawl with the punching bag for a while, not until the song ended. She faced him, fury still radiating off her. She didn’t speak, she would probably end up turning him into her punching bag.

He had his arms crossed and was resting on the doorway. “I have a feeling your imagining me as that bag.” He said honestly. She looked at the bag then back at him.

“You and a certain billionaire who doesn’t know how to keep his ass out of my business.” She replied flatly. Lathem nodded in agreement.

“Understandable.” He answered, damn she loved his voice. She wanted to beat the hell out of him, but she almost went weak listing to his velvet vocals. He took some steps towards her, she didn’t back up. She was probably only standing her ground because if she moved her knees might buckle. No one did this to her, she was trained against this. The only thing that could explain it were the words on her arm.

He was face to face with her and barely inches away. His polished features stared down at her, including his impossible eyes that she had dreamt about for the past two days. She looked back at him, keeping her defiance in her eyes.

“I'm sorry.” He whispered and turned to leave the room. She hated cliff hangers, or hooks, or anything that wasn’t finished. And this definitely was not finished. A narrator can’t just get up and leave in the middle of a story. So she wasn’t going to let her main character walk out now. She grabbed his wrist.

He turned around slightly to look at his captured wrist. An eyebrow lifted in question at her. But she didn’t care because just the touch of him was practically overwhelming and she absolutely hated it. She pulled his wrist so he was facing her again.

He still looked confused, which she sort of understood, she was acting pretty strange. In fact she was completely out of character, something that didn’t happen to her. She looked up at him for a second, the almost glowing eyes were looking back at her with intensity that she just couldn’t allow. Without a second thought she punched him.

He didn’t stumble backwards but his head did jerk back a bit. His eyes were screaming now, in pain and surprise. He opened his mouth too say something but she decided to give in to everything that she had been feeling. There was no risk in trying it. She kissed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, my bipolar disorder has decided that medicine is stupid and is rejecting it. That results in emotion hell for me and Valentines Day was sort of ruined by a pretty bad episode, I'm just glad to say i still have a fiance at the end of it. So, writing was hell, thinking of ideas was hell, breathing was basically hell for the past month and a half. I don't think that's enough of an apology but its what I can give.


	3. When Lathem met Loki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a glimpse into then past as Lathem explains how he met Loki to Natasha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had the Loki met Lathem at a wedding scenario in my head for a while and i thought it was time for a flash back.

Damn to all.

Just damn.

No ‘ifs’ ‘ands’ or ‘buts’ just damn.

Damn because she was letting herself do this. Damn because she was liking it. Damn because he was responding. Damn because this was what she had been trying to help herself from doing for the past two days. And damn because Lathem had some skills.

He was surprised at first, but in no way reluctant. He kissed her back with just as much passion as she did with him. Moans couldn't help but escape her as his hand pushed her closer to him from its place on the small of her back. She melted to his chest, she couldn’t resist. There was something absolutely electric about everything he did. There was a tug, or a pull that was coming straight from her chest and tied her closer to him. It was like the mending of old rope so it would hold stronger than ever before. It was brushing the dust off an antique to reveal its true beauty.

She hated it.

She hated it so much she wanted so much more of it so she would stop hating it. Because along side hating it, she loved it. She loved it more than she loved anything else, it was so natural. Like fitting into an old routine you missed for so long. And she hated it because of its natural feel, because every movement came without thinking. She tried to detach herself but her mind wasn’t agreeing with her motor systems and she found herself being absently drawn closer to him.

With all the will power she was able to muster she pushed herself away. Lathem didn’t try and keep her there, instead he just gave her a sad look of understanding. She let herself just stare him for a while, her shallow breathing was the only thing echoing in the room other than the music. She blinked herself out of the paused state she was in. Straightening herself up and wiping her mouth of Lathem's delicious taste. Despite her trying to ignore it, the constant tug was still there.

“I won’t-“

“I understand.” Lathem interjected her, his shoulders relaxed. He just walked out of the room with a sad stride. Instantly she felt guilty. Guilty didn’t happen often but when it did it struck her hard. See Lathem walk out without her telling him why she couldn't do this made her tug turn into a full on pull and against her will she followed him out.

Lathem was already back to working on the front door. She walked up behind him and took his wrist to get his attention but he shook it off without even looking at her.

“Just let me explain why-“ She started but he whipped himself around to burn his stare into her soul.

“You don’t need to explain. I know how you feel about me.” His voice was darker and more intimidating now, so much so that she just kept her mouth shut. “You’re conflicted, your heart is at war with your mind and your mind is winning. You want so badly to give in but you know what will happen. And for brief moment your heart takes over like it just did but you hate it so your mind stops it and you hate that you stopped it.” He paused, his gaze softened and he cupped her cheek gently. Her initial react was to push him away but she could bring herself to move.

“I know how hard this is. So I understand why you kissed me, and I understand why you pushed me away. Your mind might have the upper hand most times. But when you need someone I will be here for you to cry, to love, or just to talk. And when your mind takes over again I will not pressure you at all.” A small melancholy smile curved his pale lips. “You didn’t need to explain.”

She stood there, staring into his eyes of pure sincerity. With a quiet breath she took his hand from her face and held it in both of hers.

“I don’t know anything about you.” She said, looking at his strong alabaster hands.

“I will tell you anything.” He answer back just as quietly as she had spoken. She looked up at him strongly.

“How do you know Loki?” She asked sternly. Lathem gave her a large grin and a devious glint in his eye sparkled.

“Well, about a hundred and fifty years ago…”

*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*

**About a hundred and fifty years ago**

Lathem met Corrtr long before the man knew his bride. Corrtr had called him on a dare and ended up becoming a dedicated regular. Although inviting him to his wedding wasn’t looked to nicely upon by his parents. Of course when your father is Odin’s half-brother have a pleasure god anywhere near the family isn’t exactly protocol. But Corrtr didn’t care and insisted on having his friend be there. What was even more controversial was the fact that the Queen had let Corrtr and Yeerí have the wedding in the palace and Odin wasn’t a big fan of pleasure gods.

His friend had said that upon meeting the king he called him Vistvíf, but the insult didn’t concern Lathem, he wasn’t going to miss the wedding for the worlds. In fact he hopped that he got a good shot that the king, his father had done business with him before and any friend of his father’s was an enemy of his.

Lathem sat on the far end of the table as Odin and Frigga were at the very front and Corrtr and Yeerí next to them. The ceremony was tomorrow and this was just the begging of a party that would end with Corrtr and Yeerí’s vows tomorrow night. Odin thanked people for coming while Lathem just ate the fruit on his plate. The apple was a bit ripe but he didn’t mind. Once Odin finished Corrtr’s father Sorrtír stood up and congratulated his son and daughter in law. This went on for a while before the dinner actually started and by that time Lathem had finished his fruit course.

He sighed and looked down at his empty plate. All the others around him were just begging to start on their food, leaving Lathem one of the only ones done. With nothing else to do Lathem looked across the table for anyone he knew. Unfortunately there was no one there who was more than just a onetime call. His eyes wondered to Corrtr, his bright smile was directed to his beautiful bride. Yeerí was a short woman with thick curly brown hair and blazing blue eyes. He had only met her once but she was instantly a friend. He was happy that Corrtr was marrying someone as funny and wonderful as her.

Next to Yeerí he noticed a young man. He was well dressed and was eating his food in silence. His pale skin stood out in the sea of tans that manifested Asgard. His ebony air was slicked back neatly and tucked behind his ears. The light flicker danced hauntingly across his sculpted cheekbones. He wondered what this man would be like. From his strong posture he looked diplomatic and sharp. But his darker clothing suggested something far more cynical and mischievous, something that set Lathem completely over the edge. The man looked about his age, and even from far away he could tell that he was taller than him.

Lathem pondered the ways to get this man’s attention when a voice ran in his head.

“ _I know you’re looking at me_.”

A grin spread across Lathem face. He was a magic man, something that they shared. But Lathem didn’t have the same magic, and this man’s was obviously stronger than his. Because of this he had no way of speaking back to him.

“ _Pity you can’t_ respond." The man's voice spoke again. _"Let me make you a deal. If you are so interested, I could spare a dance later if you promise to flaunt it in front of my father. Nod for yes._ ”

Lathem grinned at his plate and nodded slowly so no one but the man could realize what he was doing.

“ _Good. You look like a good dancer._ ” The man was right. Dancing was one of his talents. He liked this dark man, he was smart and perceptive. He could tell that this was going to be fun.

Time ticked away without another word from the man. Lathem ate his food and continued to eavesdrop on others' conversation as he waited for the dancing to start. The two men beside him were laughing about a girl they had both taken to bed and then left her alone in the tavern without a clue about what happened. It took all his power not to break both men’s arms and legs then push them off a bridge to drown. He hated people like that. People who thought that a woman was just an object to fuck and throw away. Thankfully the musicians opened up the floor to dance and one of the men took a young maiden to dance, the other oaf was quiet from then on out. But he could help but feel bad for the poor girl he had chosen to dance, he could only hope she came to her senses and left him before the night was over.

“ _Come over to me.”_ Relief flooded him as the beautiful man's voice spoke again. Lathem politely left his seat and walked over to the other end of the table to the man with a calm strut. He knew that the real party was about to begin. Corrtr and Yeerí were already dancing, leaving the man with a seat vacant to him. Odin’s eye caught Lathem and narrowed decisively at him.

“Want to you want Gamenáss?” Odin hissed. It was the few times he had heard somebody use the proper term for Pleasure God. But he didn’t let it break his attitude, instead he smiled kindly at the one eyed hog and reached his hand down to the man.

“A dance.” He said. The man smiled and got up from his seat.

“If you would excuse us father.” The man said despicably as he took Lathem’s hand and lead him away from the angry king. The man’s hand was soft and his slender fingers intertwined with his own. They walked over to the dancing area, it was the middle of a dance so they didn’t join. Instead the man stopped on the edge of the crowd.

Both him and the man had grins. His because he got to annoy Odin and the man’s was probably for the same reason. He looked at the man beside him.

“So, I have captured a prince’s eye?” He said. The man smiled back.

“It seems you have.” He answered back. A brief silence plagued them before Lathem spoke up.

“It would just be polite to ask my dancing partner’s name.” Lathem said.

A mischievous glint in the other’s green eyes shone brighter than the lights in the room. “Would it?” 

“Yes, it would.”

The other didn’t respond right away. “They call me Silvertongue.”

Lathem nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, Loki.”

Loki looked up at him, a quizzing glare. “How did you not recognize me at first glance?”

“I haven’t lived in Asgard for some years, forgive me for not knowing the face of a prince.” Lathem said. The dancers on the floor stopped and new ones, including him and Loki, stepped up.

*}{*}{*

Lathem opened his drowsy eyes. The room was unfamiliar, large green tapestries adorned the wall while a large window to his left let light flood in. The bed he was in was soft, laced with deep green blankets and evening black sheets. His memory of the night before was perfect, the dance, the ale, the sex. Lathem grinned to himself. Last night was definitely a night to remember.

A slender body appeared on top of him, taking him completely by surprise. The man’s hands held down Lathem’s wrists, but he wasn’t about to resist. Loki looked down at him, his eyes flaring in green amusement.  

“You are the first person who managed to take me to bed.” He hissed. Lathem grinned back at the beauty that was straddling him.

“Oh no, did I break any laws?” he said, writhing a bit under Loki. The mischief maker smirked back at him. He shook his head, the formally greased back hair was now disheveled and hung in strings in front of his face.

“Only moral ones.” He lowered his head and kissed Lathem, whose wrists were still pinned down. Lathem begged for more once Loki’s sweet lips left his. He let go of his wrists only to grab a fistful of Lathem’s hair, not in a painful way, but he had control over his head. Loki supported himself with his other hand on the bed.

“My father _loathes_ you.” Loki sneered, a devil smile on his face, he gripped Lathem's hair tighter. “And I love it.” Loki kissed his lip roughly, bruising in the most wonderful way. His mouth traveled down from Lathem’s lips to his law and further to his neck. Every touch he leaned into, loving this just as much as Loki.

“That was the point, was it not?” Lathem responded, hauling himself and Loki up so he sat up straight. Loki was still focused on his neck when he answered.

“And I couldn’t help but want to bed you the minute I saw you looking at me.”

Lathem let out a rough chuckle, he cupped Loki’s jaw, holding the prince’s face in front of his. “I'm pretty sure it was the other way around.”

Loki glared at him darkly. “And that’s why I refuse to walk for the next week.” Loki wiggled out of Lathem’s arms and fell back on the bed with his hands under his head and without an ounce of clothing on him. He couldn’t help but smile at the mischievous prince.  Lathem laid down on his side next to Loki, propping his hand up to look at him.

“Trust me, I would love to keep you here for a week.” Lathem said as he caressed the inside of Loki’s smooth thigh. “But we do have a wedding to attend.” The prince gave him a pout. Loki took Lathem’s hand and guided it to where he obviously wanted it.

“When do we have to leave for this _intrusive_ wedding?” He said as Lathem’s hand clasped around Loki’s manhood. Lathem didn’t break eye contact with Loki as he began to stroke.

“In the very, very far future.”

*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}*}{*}{*

“…me and Loki were at his cousin’s wedding and we became very close friends.”

Natasha looked at Lathem, she was expecting more of an explanation than that but it was good enough. She was still looking at the hand that was captured in hers.

“You said you were sorry earlier.” She said, Lathem nodded. She looked at his eyes with a narrowed gaze. “Sorry for what?”

Lathem didn’t answer right away, he sort of just stared at her as a guilty glaze fell over his face. He took a deep breath before responding. “Sorry for lying.”

“Lying?” She hissed and let go of his hand. Sure she lied, it was impossible not to but she just didn’t expect Lathem to lie, he was someone she was supposed to trust even if she didn’t know him. But now figuring out that he had lied made her stomach turn. She was right all along, he was bad news, she should’ve never kissed him or done anything with him. She felt so stupid, she fell for his lies.

“I lied when I said I would be no danger to you.” He shook his head. “You had a panic attack because of me, you scrubbed off your skin to remove the words I said and you’ve been so conflicted because I'm here. I’ve been the biggest danger to you so far.”

She let her heart rate slow and her paranoia calm down a bit. She had jumped the gun and come to the wrong conclusion. He wasn’t bad, she hadn’t made a mistake. Now she felt guilty for judging him so quickly. She felt like an idiot.

Instead of apologizing she just sort of walk away to her bed. “I'm tired.” She stated. Lathem nodded.

“Is there a couch-“

“Use the bed.” She said, shock graced his face. “I don’t take up that much room.” She turned around and kicked off her shoes before climbing into the bed, trying not to freak out about what she had just done. She curled up in the dark red covered and closed her eyes.

It was completely silent for a long time, she could only assume that Lathem was contemplating what to actually do. But he did end up climbing in with her, but he kept his distance and didn’t touch her. She looked over her shoulder, he was facing the other way. She let her hand crawl across the bed to find his. He looked at her with surprise and confusion. But she clasped his hand tightly and pulled it closer to her.

The rest of Lathem hesitantly followed and he came only close enough for his chest to touch her back. But that was fine, she didn’t want to overdo it, she wasn’t ready for anything beyond this. But nightmares hadn’t existed since she met him and she didn’t want to lose that. He wasn’t there as a soulmate, just as a human dream catcher.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry that the notes and the summery posted twice, I have no idea why it did that.


End file.
